By JESSICA BLANCHARD, P-I REPORTER

Updated 10:00 pm, Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Out of a pool of 39 candidates to replace outgoing Superintendent Raj Manhas, the Seattle School Board has selected six semifinalists -- all educators -- to visit this weekend for interviews.

But in an attempt to avoid the circus-like atmosphere that plagued the district's 2003 superintendent search, the names of the semifinalists will be kept confidential and there will be no public meet-and-greet sessions with finalists, board members said after more than three hours of closed-door deliberations Tuesday evening.

Many of the contenders are superintendents now, and the district's search consultants promised to keep their applications confidential unless they became finalists for the job, Board President Cheryl Chow said.

The names of finalists will be announced next week, and the board plans to invite representatives from local education groups to meet with those candidates, she said. The board aims to hire a new leader by mid-April.

Manhas, whose tumultuous tenure has included efforts to boost academic achievement and improve the district's finances, announced last October he would step down in August.

While she offered no details about the six semifinalists, Chow noted the group was ethnically diverse and included both men and women, and that each had a background in education.

Seattle Public Schools has not had an educator at the helm since 1995. Board members have said they prefer the district's next top officer have experience working in kindergarten through 12th-grade education.

The "profile" the board approved earlier this year also lays out other desired traits: The person should work well with people from diverse backgrounds, be committed to reducing the academic achievement gap between white and minority students and have a solid record of leading an urban public school district, among other qualities.

The district's last superintendent search, which cost an estimated $60,000, imploded when all four finalists withdrew their names after facing intense public scrutiny and mounting criticism from parents, politicians and education advocates. One of the primary complaints was that candidates weren't properly vetted -- leading to some unsettling revelations late in the hiring process.

Manhas, the district's chief operating officer at the time, was elevated to interim superintendent and eventually hired. .

This time around, the consultants have promised candidates will be carefully screened.

They've also urged the School Board to consider paying the next superintendent a higher salary. Manhas currently earns about $178,000 a year.